CANTON, Kan. — Clean up is under way after two trains collided in McPherson County this morning and the National Transportation Safety Board is now taking over the investigation.

According to McPherson County 911 the accident happened around 6 a.m. at 24th Avenue just north of U.S. 56, between Canton and Galva near the new Grain Loading site under construction. Mark Davis with Union Pacific tells hutchpost.com that a west bound train was pulling onto a siding when it was hit by an east bound train on the main line.

Two locomotives and five cars on the east bound train derailed, and one locomotive, pushing the train from the back, and 15 cars left the tracks on the west bound. According to Davis, the section of the line is under CTC or Centralized Train Control which is in place to prevent train collisions. No word on if the CTC was functioning properly or why the on coming train failed to respond to the system.

Both trains were intermodle trains carrying ocean going shipping containers on flat cars.  Davis says that heavy equipment is being brought in as well as an investigative team from Omaha to asses the accident, and make repairs to the track. The line is one of the main east/ west routes for Union Pacific which runs through Hutchinson and Reno County.

No injuries are reported, and other than some leaking diesel fuel from one locomotive,  no hazardous materials were spilled.

( Photo: Kansas Highway Patrol)